VeloRUSH VeloPOINT Motorsports Magazine Fall 2013 | Page 48

The Last Open Road
by Burt Levy Ed’s Subtitle A time with Martin Swig, “Black Jack” Brabham and Sir Stirling Moss
A REVIEW© by Ed Bergman VeloRUSH CEO It is a sad, and at the same time, a very interesting day for me as I have just finished reading The Last Open Road. My thinking, upon initial purchase, was that it would provide a nice, (hopefully transporting), diversion from my very enjoyable, yet very intense, daily work world as VeloRUSH CEO. Surprise !! I became so engrossed that somehow three days managed to pass and then… it was over - without other work being done. So I had to perform some magical catch up. I'm 66 now and a Jersey guy ( West Caldwell). So, when I read Art Eastman's [Editor, Vintage Motorsport Magazine] very enthusiastic review, I decided to take the plunge. I wasn't at the Glen when Buddy [the author’s main character] was, but my first race ever as a spectator was the '64 GP there. I had driven all night to Elmira. I had to see, first hand, what so many of my buds had been raving about and what I had absorbed through my monthly “looking glass” as presented by Road & Track etc. With little sleep, early on Friday’s practice session, I found myself standing at the chain link fence separating the lookers from the doers, watching the distant activity. I wasn’t there long before a nice older man came up to me from the other side and asked if I was having a good time. He seemed much older to me at the time… he probably was in his 20s. Absolutely, I exclaimed. He then asked a seemingly inconsequential question that would eventually prove to have changed the course of my life: “would you like a closer look”? Calmly, he walked me over to the guard, showed his Pass, and I, just like that, was ushered into the inner sanctum. I could hardly breathe. In no time, I found myself inside the big barn where all of the cars, drivers and mechanics were. As if I had been expected there, I found myself sitting on a bench listening to a gaggle of my heroes talking about the race, the track, the weather, the tires and the women. Oh, the women of F1 !! Nothing has been clearer since. I was exactly right where I belonged.

My heart was in my throat and my breath was short. I spent that weekend in a fog of enthusiasm. Those three days would remain, to this day, the time that forever changed my life perspective. I felt convinced I had nothing to contribute, so, uncharacteristically, I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut, watch and periodically help as I was asked. Of the men I met that day, the gentleman that significantly changed my life was none other than Martin Swig, (of California Mille Miglia and much motorsporting mania fame). Over those invaluable 3 days, I had the amazing good fortune to both meet, and spend time with, Martin, Jack Brabham, Jo Bonier, Jackie Stewart, Ronnie Peterson, Graham Hill, Jo Siffert, Rolf Stommelen, Colin Chapman and the individual that would come to inspire me the most over the years, Sir Stirling Moss. None of this, however, would have happened if it weren’t for Martin. What a time it was. My reading of The Last Open Road took me back there more vividly than my own memory could provide. Incredible. What a JOY. What a ride!! Last year my heart sank dramatically at the news of Martin’s passing. I do what I do with VeloRUSH in an effort to repay the generosity

of the so many that have illuminated the path I have chosen to follow. I can only hope to eventually contribute a fraction of the gift I have been given.

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